How to maximize your chances of pregnancy — and when to seek help

Nypost · May 25, 2026 · 836 words · By Dr James Grifo

Reproductive Health Fertility Preservation Medical Advice

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What to know about Reproductive Health

How to maximize your chances of pregnancy — and when to seek help See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How to maximize your chances of pregnancy — and when to seek help See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleHaving children can feel like a massive gamble — there’s no guaranteed path to success.

Common ground

Much of conception is out of our control, and in many ways, it comes down to the numbers.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Reproductive Health story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that For men, a semen analysis assesses sperm count, motility and morphology, or size and shape?
How does this story connect Reproductive Health with Fertility Preservation over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/25/health/how-to-maximize-your-chances-of-pregnancy-a…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 3

schedule Pending 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “For men, a semen analysis assesses sperm count, motility and morphology, or size and shape.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “A woman’s fertility is typically strongest in her late 20s and early 30s and starts to decline after 35.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources agree that female fertility begins to decline in the late 20s or early 30s and drops significantly/sharply after age 35.

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web search NEUTRAL — It begins to decline in her early 30s and drop sharply after 35. By age 45, natural conception becomes more challenging. This decline infertility is due to both egg quantity and quality as women.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/genesis-fertility_a-womans-fe…

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web search NEUTRAL — Female fertility is often said to "fall off a cliff" after 35. The truth is far more complicated.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240313-the-fertility-my…

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web search NEUTRAL — However, fertility typically begins to decline in the late-20s or early-30s, and once you hit age 35, it suddenly becomes significantly more difficult to become pregnant without medical intervention. …
https://fertilitycenterlv.com/trying-to-conceive/ttc-in-your…

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Claim 3: “We can also gauge the quantity of remaining eggs via ovarian reserve testing.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

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Claim 4: “Age is the most significant factor affecting a woman’s fertility”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources (Stanford Medicine and two other fertility-focused sites) explicitly state that age is the biggest or primary factor influencing female fertility.

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web search NEUTRAL — Age is the biggest factor influencing female fertility. Meaningful decline in the quality of eggs starts around age 35, when approximately half of a female’s eggs are normal and half are not.
https://healthier.stanfordchildrens.org/en/busting-the-bigge…

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web search NEUTRAL — Understand how age affects female fertility, influencing natural conception as well as success rates for IUI and IVF treatments. Key Facts About Female Fertility By Age. A woman's fertility begins to …
https://cada.com/en/blog/fertility-woman-age/

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web search NEUTRAL — Age is a primary factor influencing female fertility. Explore the general statistics on conception chances and risks as age progresses. Remember, these are population averages, not individual predicti…
https://www.mypregnancycalc.com/en/calculators/fertility-age…

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Claim 5: “Carrier screening can reveal if a woman is carrying gene mutations for inherited conditions that could be passed to her children.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources define carrier screening as a genetic test that analyzes DNA for mutations associated with inherited conditions that can be passed to children.

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web search NEUTRAL — Carrier screening is a type of genetic test that analyses a person’s DNA for specific mutations associated with inherited conditions. Being a carrier means you have one copy of a gene mutation for a r…
https://www.lumihealth.com.au/education/freezing-your-eggs-w…

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web search NEUTRAL — Carrier screening is a genetic test that identifies whether you carry gene mutations for certain inherited conditions. Unlike tests that examine your baby directly, carrier screening looks at your DNA…
https://chgr.org/genetic-testing-for-pregnant-women-nipt-vs-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Carrier Screening (Genetic Screening for Inherited Conditions). Tubal Ligation Reversal. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
https://www.lifewomenshealthcenter.org/services/carrier-scre…

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Claim 6: “Dr. James Grifo is director of the NYU Langone Fertility Center and a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 7: “obesity can disrupt ovulation”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the provided evidence confirms obesity is a disease and affects overall health, none of the specific search results provided mention ovulation or its disruption.

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web search NEUTRAL — Obesity is a medical condition, considered a disease by multiple organizations, [8][9][10] in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can have negative effects on health.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity

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web search NEUTRAL — Dec 8, 2025 · In 2022, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity. Worldwide adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. In 2022, 2.5 billion adults…
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 10, 2024 · What is obesity? Obesity is when you have excessive body fat. It’s a chronic (long-term) and complex disease that can affect your overall health and quality of life. Obesity can lead to…
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11209-weight-…

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Claim 8: “marijuana’s effects on fertility... it can remain in the body for months”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm marijuana/THC remains in the body for extended periods; one source specifically mentions it can stay in the blood for up to two months, and another notes it remains in fat cells long after use.

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web search NEUTRAL — Cannabis (/ ˈkænəbɪs /), [3] commonly known as marijuana (/ ˌmærəˈwɑːnə /), [4] weed, pot, Mary Jane, and ganja, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)

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web search NEUTRAL — Hashish and marijuana affect a person for at least a week, but can stay in the blood for up to two months.They also impair orientation and the ability to absorb external impressions. In Sweden there i…
https://www.ikorkort.nu/en/vk_korkortsfraga_en_290.php

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web search NEUTRAL — Marijuana is known to remain in the body for extended periods, primarily due to its storage in fat cells. While the immediate effects of marijuana can last for a few hours, the metabolite THC (tetrahy…
https://brainly.com/question/53752753

verified

Claim 9: “By her 40s, it often takes many more eggs to yield one viable embryo.”

VERIFIED

The source 'Biology Insights' explicitly confirms that declining egg quality means women over 40 need more eggs to produce the same number of healthy embryos.

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web search NEUTRAL — Births among women ages 40-44 have been rising since the early 1980s and kept rising in 2017, even as the overall U.S. birth rate fell to a record low, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevent…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/05/19/childbearing-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Women in their 30s and 40s exhibit a mix of wishful thinking and woeful ignorance when it comes to their fertility.
https://aeon.co/essays/why-do-women-know-so-little-about-the…

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web search NEUTRAL — For women 35 to 39, those same odds require more eggs, and for women over 40, the math shifts dramatically.That declining quality means older women need more eggs to produce the same number of healthy…
https://biologyinsights.com/how-many-eggs-does-a-woman-need-…

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Claim 10: “Ultrasounds can help rule out cysts, fibroids and other uterine anomalies that could make it difficult to carry a baby to term.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

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Claim 11: “GLP-1 medications... should be discontinued a month or two before trying to conceive and are not safe during pregnancy.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One source states GLP-1s are generally not recommended during pregnancy. However, no source in the provided evidence specifies the 'one to two months before' discontinuation window, and other sources are too general to corroborate the specific timing.

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web search NEUTRAL — GLP-1 medications are generally not recommended during pregnancy.That is why muscle preservation, including resistance training and a diet that provides adequate protein, should be part of the GLP-1 t…
https://www.everydayhealth.com/weight-management/glp-1-medic…

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web search NEUTRAL — Most medications include pregnancy-related risk information in FDA labeling, historically summarized using FDA pregnancy categories. It is important to verify the safety of all medications, including …
https://www.drugs.com/pregnancy/

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web search NEUTRAL — And to be fair, medications like Ozempic (semaglutide) and other GLP-1 receptor agonists have changed the conversation around weight loss, obesity treatment, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes ma…
https://www.silkor.com/uae/en/blog/here-today-gone-to-marrow…

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Claim 12: “It [obesity] can also affect male fertility by lowering sperm count and quality.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence discusses obesity generally as a health condition but does not mention sperm count, sperm quality, or male fertility specifically.

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.